How to Play the Post-Interview Waiting Game

Final Interview

Does your explaination also apply to the final three candidates in the pool after the last round of interviews? I can understand if an applicant never hears back after the first or the second round. However, I do not know if the same can be said after the finale. Please let me know. Thanks.

Kaz of IL @ May 16, 2009 08:48:58 AM

Ask at the interview

Bring to the interview a list of questions you want to ask. Two of those quesitons should be:

1. May I call you if I have any quesitons? Hopefully this will give you permission to contact the manager if you don't hear from him or her.

2. When might I expect to hear about your hiring decision? This will tell you when to make the follow up call if he or she doesn't get back to you.

In the thank you note that you send immediately after the interview, mention that you're eager to hear from them in whatever time span they gave you. This will serve as a gentle reminder that you've marked it in your calendar.

Susan Ireland of CA @ Sep 16, 2008 12:00:26 PM

Why I believe employers increasingly don't respond to job seekers

A serious mistake job seekers make is assuming the interviewer is competent or properly trained in how to conduct job interviews! I believe the sometimes-long post interview waiting game is due to elements of the following. In my experience as an employment mediator, ill-trained job interviewers are all too common. Companies routinely find themselves in legal hot water promoting individuals into management and then “turning them loose” in job interview settings.

My non-scientific research has shown that less than 10% of job applicants have an understanding that job interviews are a process not an event. The trend seems to be that career seekers "pick and choose" parts of the process to familiarize themselves with while ignoring other key parts. The interviewee learns about how to create an excellent resume but not how to interpret a job description.

The job seeker spends time reviewing interview questions the interviewer may ask, but not the questions they should ask the employer. For example, how is the company doing finacially? Is the company a target for corporate takeover? Is their any merger plans in the near future that could affect the position applied for? You accept a position only to find out 6 months later the business is sold and your job is targeted for elimination or layoff.

The one thing that has been consistent is the inconsistency of job interview questions. Job seekers should understand that the person doing the interview and making the final hiring decision might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He or she may not have the essential skills to be an effective interviewer. Job interviewers routinely ask illegal or improper questions either out of ignorance or deliberately with the intent to discriminate against certain groups. That makes learning to give good job interview answers and asking good job interview questions so important.

The article writer makes a very astute observation when she states, "And if you never hear back from the company—not even with a rejection (as seems to be a growing and incredibly rude trend)? That's a company you don't want to work for anyway. Bullet dodged." I have also noticed an increasing tendency by employers not responding to job applicants after the interview process is "over". I believe a contributing factor is the aforementioned lack of awareness of the interview process by the job seeker.

For example, the interviewer asks, How long have you lived in this area? The interviewee responds, "My husband and I moved here from Venezuela 2 years ago." The interviewee is more than qualified for the position and is eligible to work, yet never gets a response from the employer. Why? Because the employer may be motivated by political and or racial bias, especially given the political tension between the U.S. and Venezuela.

Employers and interviewers routinely discriminate against job seekers for various reasons up to and including race, religion, gender, national origin, political affiliation (If it can be determined through illegal questions), age even the professional sports teams the applicant likes or dislikes! My theory is the company will simply act as if you never existed, with the belief that will circumvent potential discrimination claims.

Yancey at You can learn basic employee rights of TN @ Sep 15, 2008 20:48:04 PM

You have to ask up front

The key is that it's up to the candidate to ask when he or she is likely to get a response, before leaving the interview. Then the candidate isn't left with that "Is it too early to contact them?" conundrum.

Andy Lester of IL @ Sep 15, 2008 20:15:38 PM

Be Polite

Great post with a lot of good points. One mistake I have seen candidates make over the years is that they sometimes let the stress of waiting for an offer get to them and they start to get testy with the recruiter. Don't do that. Remain polite and, of course, as you said, don't play games. Even if you think you are going to get an offer and then you don't remember that all the nice people you met while interviewing are new contacts with whom you can network. I have made great friends at companies that rejected me and sometimes those friendships led me to even better jobs elsewhere.

Liz Handlin of TX @ Sep 15, 2008 19:30:55 PM